Dreaming into Being
Dreams have occupied a central place in human thought for as long as people have tried to make sense of themselves.
The 2026-2027 Syracuse Symposium, themed "DREAMS," engages the idea through storytelling, film, music, activism and cultural tradition. The Syracuse University Humanities Center's fall programming explores how dreams shape memory, identity and the futures we imagine for ourselves and our communities.
Dreams have occupied a central place in human thought for as long as people have tried to make sense of themselves.
Perhaps that is because dreams seem to be replete with symbolism, wisdom and truth-telling. They can manifest ideas, generate visions, reshape memory, draw on emotions and offer glimpses of future selves. They can be hopeful or harrowing, taking shape as nightmares as often as inspiration.
Across disciplines and eras, dreams have functioned as a shared language for hope, memory and transformation. Sigmund Freud built a foundational theory of the unconscious mind on the idea that dreams reveal hidden desires. Centuries earlier, Shakespeare filled "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with enchanted visions that blur the line between waking life and illusion. More recently, songwriters including John Lennon to activists like Martin Luther King Jr. have referenced dreams as a way of imagining a better world into being.
“Dreams are tied to premonitions, divination, political movements, and social change,” notes Vivian May, Humanities Center director. “We invite our community to join us in “dreaming” together about a more just and beautiful world.” [Read the full A&S News article...]